Jon Bristol grew up watching and loving the Muppets. After he graduated from Conard High in West Hartford in 1993, he taught himself puppetry.

Today, Bristol makes puppets that look a lot like Muppets. But they don't act like Jim Henson's Muppets. They swear, drink, smoke pot, get naked, have sex. And they aren't the only naughty ones around. There's also a serial killer lurking in the woods, eager to separate their little bodies from their felt heads.

"Head" is the second feature film starring the Elmwood Puppets, the Plainville-based production company founded by Bristol. The puppet slasher thriller will be shown, in two premiere screenings, on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, at Paris in Plantsville art gallery in Southington.

"It's very much a tribute old movies. The cliches are all there, in the script on purpose, so that it's a typical horror movie," Bristol said. "Kids go into the woods ... and disturb the peace with drugs, alcohol and having sex and the villains come get them for it."

The funny and silly thriller was shot in the woods in Bethlehem, with interiors in central Connecticut, including a scene shot at the Southington art gallery (standing in for a restaurant) and a big final scene at a large warehouse type space at WRF Designs, a carousel-restoration shop in Plainville.

Bristol's day job is at Barnes & Noble, and he runs Elmwood Puppets in his spare time. The company is a group of about 15 people. Bristol makes all the puppets and writes the scripts. Others produce, act, come up with supplemental ideas and create effects, such as the latex construction to make the blood spurts look like they're coming out of real flesh.

One supplemental idea, which enhances the old-time horror feel of the film, is an introduction by "Graveyard Gil," a vampire presenter in the vein of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and other schlocky horror hosts. "A lot of us watched those guys on TV," Bristol said. "I made the puppet look as much like John Waters as I could."

"Head" is preceded by a horror short, also introduced by Graveyard Gil.

The ending of "Head" leaves room for a sequel. Whether there will be one or not depends on audience reaction to this one. "If people love it we'll do a sequel and if people hate it we'll do a sequel. We want to get a reaction either way. If people don't care, we won't do it," Bristol said. "Every horror movie that's really bad has a sequel. People who love horror will see the sequel thinking 'how can it get worse?'"

"HEAD" will be shown at Paris in Plantsville Gallery, 15 W. Main St. in the Plantsville section of Southington, on Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, at 7 p.m. Filmmakers and cast members will be present. Advance tickets are $8 and are sold online, but there is limited space for walk-ups also, for $10 a seat. squareup.com